Indiana Football Inks Contract Extension with 'Super Key' Assistant Coach

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football's defense will remain in the same, dominant hands in 2026.

Indiana reached an agreement Friday on a three-year contract extension with defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, according to multiple reports. CBS Sports insider Matt Zenitz first reported the news on X, and Peegs.com's Jeff Rabjohns noted the deal is worth nearly $3 million annually.

Haines, who was named the AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year on Dec. 9 and is a finalist for the Broyles Award, will become one of the nation's highest-paid assistant coaches. The honor this past season belonged to Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who earned $3.1 million. Haines had a $2 million starting salary this fall.

Apart from the 2016 season, which he spent as linebackers coach at UC-Davis, Haines has been with Indiana coach Curt Cignetti every year since 2014. Haines ascended from strength and conditioning coach and defensive line coach from 2014-15 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania to defensive coordinator in 2022 at James Madison.

The 40-year-old Haines "garnered external interest," according to Zenitz, the second consecutive offseason he's been pursued by other programs. Indiana initially extended Haines in December of 2024 but re-upped its financial commitment in another contract in January of 2025 after Cignetti said "blue bloods" were after his coordinators.

Haines' defenses have long been among the nation's best, and his group this fall continued the trend. The No. 1 Hoosiers enter the College Football Playoff with the No. 2 scoring defense in the FBS, allowing 10.8 points per game, and No. 6 in total defense at 257.2 yards allowed per game.

Cignetti touted Haines' significance to Indiana's success earlier this season.

"He's a football guy," Cignetti said Oct. 27. "His philosophy is to attack. He wants to attack offenses. So, the X and O part of it is his strength, but he's a great teacher. He's a great teacher for the linebacker, very detailed. And I can't say enough good things about Bryant Haines.

"I'm glad that he decided to stay last year when he had some opportunities because he's a super key guy in the organization."

Indiana's defense produced seven selections on the All-Big Ten teams in defensive tackle Tyrique Tucker, linebackers Aiden Fisher, Rolijah Hardy and Isaiah Jones and defensive backs D'Angelo Ponds, Louis Moore and Amare Ferrell. Tucker, Fisher, Ponds, Moore and defensive lineman Stephen Daley each garnered All-American honors, too.

Cignetti, a coach whose background is more rooted in offense, gives Haines significant freedom to run the Hoosiers' defense. Cignetti's trust in Haines, and Haines' schematic brilliance, has paid immense dividends.

Now, the Hoosiers are rewarding Haines with an immense pay raise.